Palletshipping
by TheChocolateFlake
Summary: T for now. :3 palletshipping is GaryxAsh /shonen ai/ yaoi. A somewhat lenghty drawing out of the episodes where Gary and Ash interact, with my own additions to the story and switching of events. Please review on the writing to help me improve.
1. Rivals

**Author Note: **

**Some of the dialogue sounds familliar? It probably is. I've taken the episodes where Ash and Gary meet and have exaggerated the palletshipping potential in them and put my own twist on what goes on in the episodes. This is the first epsiode, but I've made it more involved with Gary being there when Ash meets Pikachu. Hopefully you will enjoy it.**

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Gary Oak was up early that morning. He moved around the still house, quiet as a ghost. In his bedroom most of his belongings had been packed away and put under his bed. Everything personal that he wanted to bring was in a rucksack by the door, along with the money he had been saving for the last three years, ready to be shouldered when he left. He walked around his bedroom to take a last look around. He would soon be striking out on his own- or as 'on your own' as you could be with everything handed to you and your own personal fanclub.

He was the grandson of Professor Oak, quite possibly the most brilliant pokémon researcher in the Kanto region, and therefore everyone held high expectations for him. 'And why shouldn't they?' the ten year old thought with an easy smile. He knew everything about pokémon, everything. No one could match the knowledge that came effortlessly to him. His grandfather had taught him well. He was going to start his journey and claim the recognition his life had been building up to. He was going to shine. He was going to bring glory to Palletown by becoming a Pokémon Master. He was going to be even more famous than Professor Oak.

But even though his victory was assured, he felt uneasy. He turned over a small arkcanine plush toy with a glazed expression. There were others starting their pokémon journeys today. But only one of them mattered. He was finally ready to start the trip to Pallet. He wouldn't be there for very long- just enough time to be given his pokémon and then be sent on his way.

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_In a small, ordinary looking house in a small, not very important town there is a boy; Ash Ketchum. His dream is to become a pokémon master, but can someone so young achieve such a mighty dream?_

_A dodrio calls in the distance; the three feathered brown heads set aside their bickering to welcome the morning. Of course, as soon as their song is over, it's back to fighting amongst themselves…_

Ash rolled onto his side and blinked, the dodrio chorus stirring him from his dreams. He lay under his blanket for a full minute, blissfully refreshed, but unsure of what it was he had been dreaming about. It had been about pokémon- all of his dreams were about pokémon. They all blended into each other, so he usually couldn't remember them separately.

Ash's room slowly came into focus as he woke up. Sunlight filtered through the curtains and danced on the opposite wall, lighting up all his pokémon league posters and odd merchandise he had collected over the years, and some presents from his father who was out there, training somewhere. There was a pollywhirl sharpener, an oddish figurine with a cute painted smile, and several magazines detailing the care and training of pokémon. Ash's prized position though was his official Pokémon League hat, which he had obtained through much hardship. He always wore it, along with his simple every-day outfit of jeans, closefitting black polo, and his white and blue jacket. He had recently added some green fingerless gloves to his attire which, aside from making him look super cool, would make handling poke balls easier- so they wouldn't slip out of his clumsy fingers…

'I sure slept well,' Ash said with a massive yawn. His voice was naturally rough, with a hint of huskiness, like he had something in his throat that he couldn't quite get rid of, but he sounded extra croaky that morning. His bed was warm and it loved him, so he was loath to move. He snuggled his face into his pillow forlornly as he felt the sleepiness slowly fading.

'Oh, that's right, I was dreaming about starter pokémon,' he mumbled into his pillow, running his hands through his tousled black hair. He still hadn't decided which one he was going to pick. It was impossible to choose! Bulbasaur's were supposed to be easy for beginners to train, but the squirtle was quite cute… But, surely the charmander topped them all? It could breath fire! Which one would look good for his image as a trainer? He wanted to create a really cool persona with just the right amount of awesome. Suddenly, he had a sinking feeling.

'_Oh... Oh dear.'_

Ash jerked into a sitting position so hard his head snapped back as he frantically threw of his bedclothes. 'Aw, what time is it!' he yelled at his alarm clock- which lay smashed on the floor. He'd thrown it in his sleep. The little pidgy dangled on its spring forlornly, surrounded by the bits of shattered clockwork. The pokéball it had been nestled in was broken and the sliver-white button that had connected the two halves was missing, probably rolled under his bed. Ash clambered out of the bed forcefully, getting caught up in the heavy duvet as he kicked his way free.

'Where are my clothes?_' _Ash whined, scanning the floor. There was no time. He had to hurry! Today he was going to start his POKEMON ADVENTURE and he had just SLEPT IN. He would be lucky if there were any pokémon left by the time he hauled his butt to Professor Oak's Research Centre. It was only down the road, but he didn't even know what time it was. He thought back to the television program his mother had told him to watch but he couldn't remember what time Professor Oak had said to be at the research centre.

Ash ran downstairs and darted past his startled mother. She frowned at him disapprovingly, making a start towards him. 'Ash! You're in your sleepy-clothes!' she stuttered, dropping her cooking utensils onto the counter with a clatter. Ash was ten years old; old enough to be given his pokémon licence, but as an only child with a single mother he was doted on, smothered even. 'Ash, wait-'

'Sorry! No time Mom, gotta go!' he yelled over his shoulder. He nimbly ducked under his mother's arms and took off down the road in a blind panic, the back door swinging shut with a creak and a snap, cutting of his mother's words.

Ash pelted down the track at full speed. 'Bulbasaur, charmander, squirtle! I don't care which one I get, just save one for me!' he half-shouted half-groaned. He was the only one on the road, so he didn't have to worry about the fact he was still in his pyjamas. His breath misted in the cold morning air and he shivered in his shorts and thin night-shirt. He saw a large crowd outside before he even reached the centre. He slowed nervously, hoping to slip between the waves of people, but he realised that it was going to be impossible. He peered over the sea of bobbing heads, trying to look for a safe way through the people without getting elbowed.

'Gary, Gary he's our man!' Squealed a bunch of cheerleaders, dressed in short skirts and brandishing pom-poms. As Ash pushed through the crowd they thrust them in his face, repeating the annoying cheer. He raised his hands to protect his face as he worked his way into the mass of people. He didn't know there were that many love-struck teenage girls in the entire region, let alone in Pallet.

'Ahh… Sorry,' Ash blushed as he pushed past them, catching sight of bare skin as the girls pranced around. He wasn't watching where he was going and stumbled into someone as he tried to escape. He landed in the dirt with a thud, raising a cloud of dust.

'Hey, watch where you're going, that hurt!' the person he'd bumped into snapped, turning on Ash. He narrowed his eyes and hunched his shoulders, ready to tear into him, but something made him stop. His eyes flashed with recognition and his frown was replaced by a scornful smile. He took in Ash's disgruntled appearance with slanted eyes.

Ash bristled, peering through his bangs to look up at the boy who stood glaring at him. He had red-brown hair that stuck up in long spikes and was wearing a purple, medium sleeved shirt and grey trousers, stuffed into orange and black boots. A pendant hung on a black string around his neck, yellow and green glass winking in the sunlight. At first Ash didn't recognise the other, but then his eyes widened in recognition.

Gary Oak was the same age as Ash and had lived next door to him until a few years ago. The two had been friends until...until Gary had started being such a jerk! He looked older than Ash, but the truth was they were the same. Gary just couldn't accept it. Apparently, Gary was back and hadn't thought to tell him. He didn't know why that hurt.

'Oh, you must be Ash. You haven't changed at all. Better late than never I guess,' Gary said snootily. There was no doubt as to who this voice belonged to now. Gary stared down at Ash with a superior smirk, making the other boy frown from his position on the ground.

'At least you get the chance to meet _me. _I wasn't even planning on announcing I was back in Pallet, but somehow everyone seemed to find me._'_ He gestured to all the people around them and shot Ash a smirk, which the girls interpreted as a cheeky smile, squealing and cooing in the background. 'They all remember me just fine. I'm quite offended that you didn't, after all; we go way back.'

'Stupid...haven't changed…Gary.' Ash growled, standing up. He stood up quickly and attempted to pat the sand off of his butt.

'Mr. Gary to you, show some respect!' the teen said obnoxiously, standing straighter so he could still look down on Ash. He was only a few months older than him and not that much taller, Ash noted, only an inch or two. 'Well Ash- you snooze you lose and you've been last, right from the start! I've got my first pokémon, and you don't,' Gary sneered, placing his hands on his hips and sticking his chest out, importantly.

'You've got your first pokémon!' Ash felt a pang of envy. _Damn you Gary, _I'm_ going to be a pokémon master! _He thought fretfully.

'Yeah, and if you'd been here earlier you would know it's the best one,' Gary continued. 'You know, I don't even think there are any left. My grandfather gave me the last one.' He looked at Ash, testing for a reaction.

Ash repeated what Gary said quietly. 'None... left?' The colour drained out of his face and he hung his head, his dark hair falling in front of his eyes. Gary forgotten he clenched his jaw trying to stop the unhappiness slowly working its way through him. It was a slow pain that started in his chest and worked its way up into his throat. It hurt like he was going to _cry _or something. After three years of hard work and vowing to become a pokémon master this was all it boiled down to? Gary got his pokémon first and even got a year head start on him? His eyes watered as if he'd been pinched. He couldn't stop the moisture as it welled up and a small tear squeezed past his defences.

Gary stared at Ash with a mildly alarmed look on his face. He glanced quickly to see if anyone else had noticed Ash's tears. Damn him, he was making Gary look like a bully. His eyes darted back to Ash's face -or his bangs rather- and gulped.

'Hey, hey Ash, are you… okay?' Gary asked gruffly, just making sure he hadn't pushed the kid too far. He had only meant to tease him, jeeze! Was Ash taking him seriously? Gary sighed. He probably owed it to his fan club to be nicer to the loser. 'My grandfather has lots of pokémon,' he said very slowly, the words nearly choking him. He reached to pat the other on the back awkwardly, but his hand was smacked away.

Gary's 'kind' words seemed to have the opposite effect on Ash, who looked him right in the eye with the beginnings of an angry blush, his jaw clenched tightly. 'I don't need your pity!' Ash spat. 'I'm going to be a pokémon master, and if I have to wait longer, then I have to wait longer. It was my _responsibility_ to be here on time, and I wasn't.'

Gary gawped at him dumbly, opening and closing his mouth as if he'd lost the ability to speak, or insult Ash further. Ash turned on his heel and was about to stalk away when Gary's hand shot out and gripped his shoulder. 'Oh no,' he growled quietly, '_You_'re not going anywhere!'

Gary pulled Ash toward him and leaned his head over his shoulder. His face was startlingly close to Ash's neck. 'You brat... I try to be nice and look what happens...' Gary said tonelessly, his eye twitching. _Oh great, now he's mad, _Ash thought, bracing himself. He could feel Gary's hair tickling the back of his neck and it raised goose bumps on his already cold skin.

'W-what are you doing! -Hey!' Ash struggled, his limbs flailing futilely.

'Come on, we're going to see my gramps,' Gary said through clenched teeth. 'I hope you realise what a big favour I'm doing you.' He held Ash by the collar of his night-shirt so he couldn't escape, or wriggle out of it. Ash was skinny enough to slip right out of the cotton shirt and tear off back to his house. Hell, he felt frightened enough to do anything; running screaming through Pallet half-naked wouldn't faze him if it meant getting away from Gary Oak.

'Let me go!' he cried hoarsely as he was dragged around the side of the building. Gary was taking Ash in through a gate around the back where Professor Oak's house was attached to the lab. It was a somewhat smaller building with grey bricks and only looked half built, as if the Professor had only thought of his research centre but later realised he needed a place to live too. There were a few wilted potted plants on the wooden steps that led to the back door and a stone crabby ornament holding a little 'welcome' sign.

'Professor Oak hardly ever uses his house' Ash said, forgetting to struggle. 'Shouldn't we have just gone in through the front?' Gary let go of Ash quickly, not realising how tightly he'd been holding onto the younger boy's collar.

'Don't be stupid, I don't want to be seen with you,' Gary said hotly. 'Besides, what do you know about my grandfather? He probably only talks to you out of pity seeing as you're so useless and all.' Gary moved the crabby ornament and found a small key.

Ash spluttered angrily. 'I never asked for your help, you're the one who dragged me by my collar around the back of the centre. And-' Ash scrunched his face up, 'You seemed to like it, too!' He pulled his shirt over his lightly tanned stomach. 'Practically undressed me...' he muttered.

Gary looked at him acidly as he turned the key. 'Gramps, GRAMPS! It's me, Gary!' he yelled through the open screen door. There was a crashing sound, and a muffled curse from inside before Professor Oak appeared, a strange orange powder coating his silvery hair and a suspicious green slime staining his normally spotless lab coat. His eyes were round as he took in his scowling grandson and he blinked a few times.

'Sorry, I was just trying to collect a sample from an obstinate gloom, don't touch the powder, it's stun spore- Gary? What are you doing back here so soon? Is there a problem with your pokémon?' Professor Oak walked outside and squinted at him against the bright sunlight. He opened his mouth to say something and then saw Ash, breaking into a grin. 'Oh Ash, how delightful of you to visit.' He shook his hand and looked him over. 'But, why are you wearing your pyjamas? Is it some new youngster fashion?'

'Eh heh, no Professor,' Ash tried to explain hastily, his eyes flicking between Professor Oak and the sullen Gary, who now refused to look at him. Gary cleared his throat loudly.

'Ah, I see you've found Gary. I wondered whether he was going to tell you he was back in Pallet,' Professor Oak continued and winked at his grandson, who turned away from him with an embarrassed roll of his eyes.

'Ash is here for a pokémon.' As soon as the words left Gary's mouth Ash stared at him with a look of wonder, slack jawed. 'He was late and missed all the best ones. But I'm sure you might have a magikarp for him!' Gary added hastily and admittedly a little nervously. Ash was still staring at him like he had grown another head.

'A magikarp? It that a cool pokémon?' Ash asked with so much excitement that Gary almost felt sorry for making the jab. 'A magi carp's just a dumb old fish, stupid!' Gary explained, smacking Ash upside the head and darting to the side to dodge a sluggish blow.

'Hey!'

'Boys!' Professor Oak looked at Gary with disapproval and he could feel a twisting feeling in his gut. All the happiness he'd felt about being special in his grandfather's eyes disappeared. 'Come inside, Ash. Gary, are you coming too?'

'Of course; I wouldn't want to miss seeing what kind of pokémon Ash gets,' he replied sweetly, then shot Ash a venomous look.

'Alright, my first pokémon! Yeah!' Ash yelled, pumping his fist in the air, Gary already forgotten.

'Keep it down, loser. You'll scare all the pokémon!' Gary jabbed Ash in the side with his thumb and walked ahead of him with his nose in the air.

'Keep your hands to yourself, jerk!' Ash muttered, yanking a clump of Gary's hair, earning a startled yelp and another smack.

Professor Oak muttered about manners and the safety of his expensive lab equipment, but didn't say anything to the two. He supposed they had a lot of catching up to do. If they had become hostile towards each other in the last few years they would have to work something out and put it behind them. He had high hopes for the two- which could only be achieved if they worked _together. _Now there was a novel concept!

He lead them down a corridor into the main lab where there was a raised platform. Three pokéballs were in the centre and Ash ran over right away before Professor Oak could say anything, or warn him not to touch anything.

'I thought about this a lot, Professor! I decided that my first pokémon would be Bulbasaur!' Ash burbled, looking as excited as a six year old at Christmas. He picked up the pokéball and it popped open, empty. 'Eh?' Ash looked dumbfounded. He put the pokéball down. Well, he didn't expect them to be there at all anyway.

He picked up the next closest pokéball. 'Alright, that's okay because my first pokémon will be... squirtle!' The pokéball clicked open and...There was nothing inside. 'WHAT?' Ash exclaimed, dropping the empty pokéball and staring at Professor Oak in alarm.

'Pfft,' Garry laughed, clutching his sides. The guy was an idiot! He felt a small, warm feeling of affection for Ash- remembered from when they actually got along- which he abruptly stamped out. He watched as Ash tried the last pokéball and found that it too was empty.

'Well, you know Ash the early bird gets the worm.' Professor Oak said wisely. He had put on a new lab coat. He nodded sagely, fingering his chin thoughtfully.

'You mean there really are no pokémon left?' Ash gasped, his face falling.

'There is one other pokémon, but there's a problem with it and I wasn't planning on handing it out to any trainer today. You had better wait for your bulbasaur.'

Gary quirked an eyebrow and he stopped fiddling with the microscope. A problem pokémon? One that he hadn't seen his gramps give out? 'No, Professor! I just have to have a pokémon, please let me take it?' Ash pleaded. Gary turned back to his amusement with a snort of disgust. The boy was going to get nowhere with pity. Gary resumed hating Ash, deciding that he would crush him like a bug. _I hope you like your dreams, Ash, because I'm going to tear them to pieces. _Gary thought with an extra wave of spite. Something small and silvery pinged off of the microscope and he withdrew his fingers hastily, resolving to deny everything if his grandfather asked about it.

Professor Oak glanced at Ash and pressed a button on the side of the stand. The platform moved to allow a fourth pokéball to surface and Ash timidly picked up the ball. It had a little lightning bolt sticker on it; cute, but it probably contained something lame. As soon as it touched his palm the pokéball opened and the pokémon was beamed out. The red light revealed a Pikachu of all things. Hah! What a joke. Gary didn't need to see any more.

'Listen gramps, I'm outta here. I got stuff to do,' Gary said. He stuck his hands in his pockets. 'I've got my pokémon journey to start. I can't waste my time with little brats like you, Ash.'

'Oh yeah, well I'll show you Gary Oak!' Ash said scathingly. He glared at the back of Gary's head as he sauntered back down the hall-way and Professor Oak sighed to himself.

'Only _in your dreams, which you won't have for very long,' _Gary snorted, quietly. He left without a backward glance and headed to meet the people in his fan club, who were probably waiting with baited breath. His last thought as he left the facility was that he hoped he wouldn't bump into Ash on the way to the pokémon league.


	2. What's it about you?

**Author note: The episode name is 'Dig those Diglet'**

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Ash Misty and Brock were on the road again, their latest adventure having been in Gringy City, the grimiest and most disgusting town they had ever seen. The air in Gringy City had been almost unbearable, and its effects were still being felt in Ash's lungs. His chest felt a little tight and he felt like the inside of his lungs were coated with a thick layer of sludge. His eyes stung every time he remembered the power station and the battle with the grimers. When he had caught a large muk, he was rather proud though. He'd sent it to Professor Oak immediately. After talking with the professor he had proof that he was catching pokémon at the same rate -if not faster- than Gary Oak, his rival.

The trio continued down the road in almost-silence, which really meant that they were taking a break from talking to each other: Misty was humming and Brock was talking to himself about ways to perfect his pokémon food recipe, so Ash had some time to think. These silences had become necessary when it was clear that spending so much time together was actually quite stressful.

Since he'd made friends with Brock and Misty Ash hadn't been alone with his thoughts for very long. While their presence was reassuring, it gave him less time to think about battle strategies. He hadn't had a half-decent day-dream about being a pokémon master for a few days now. While it was nice and all to have companions, the three were almost always together, and it did get a tad annoying.

'So where are we headed now, guys?' Misty chirped, when they had stopped to rest in the shade. She almost wished she hadn't asked when Ash leapt straight in with: 'We have to go to the next gym so I can get another badge!'

Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and struck his own pose. 'Pi_-ka!_' he agreed. 'Yeah Pikachu!' Ash grinned, hugging him and dancing around the path. 'We're going to be pokémon masters!' he laughed, lost in a world of fire and sparkles.

'There he goes again...' Misty shrugged. She and Brock exchanged glances.

'Well... Fuchsia Gym isn't far from here,' Brock suggested, scratching his head.

'Where is it?' Misty asked in her overly nice voice that sometimes sent shivers down Ash's spine, leaning closer to Brock so she could look at the map over his shoulder.

'Just over this mountain,' Brock peered at his map. 'Well, it says over one of these mountains, but there are mountains on every side! Hmmmmmm...' His face scrunched into a frown as he entered his 'I'm really thinking very hard, here!' expression. He looked like a geodude with constipation, Ash thought with a laugh.

'Aw, don' tell me we're lost again!' Misty huffed, planting her hands on her hips and blushing angrily, her face nearly as red as her hair. Getting lost was quite a common occurrence, especially when Brock was reading the map. It accounted for most of the time they wasted in-between cities. Funnily enough, Misty was the one who could read maps the best, but Brock insisted that it was a MAN'S JOB and he was MANLY and A MAN. Ash liked to stay out of Misty and Brock's disputes. They usually worked well together anyway, so what was the point of getting annoyed over something as trivial as getting lost in the woods with no food and no way of contacting anyone? He was surprised that it wasn't worse.

'-Okay, I won't tell you.'

'Hey, what's that sound?' Ash asked suddenly, interrupting them both. He cupped his hands over his ears and took a few uncertain steps forward. 'I think it's coming from that direction, but I don't know what it is. It sounds pretty bad.'

'Pikachu,' muttered his dizzy pokémon, still reeling from the earlier spinning. He held onto Ash's jeans so he wouldn't fall over.

'Pikachu, you hear it too? Come on you guys!' Ash and Pikachu took off into the forest. Misty and Brock had no choice but to follow them or get separated, and they both liked Pikachu too much to let him get lost!

The trio crashed through the bushes and veered off of the path, finally stopping as they were held back by a wide ditch. Several large trucks were roaring past on a bumpy dirt and concrete road; so loud that Pikachu was tried to bury himself into Ash's coat with his long ears pinned against his small head. 'Chaa!' he whined, nuzzling into Ash as a loud explosion broke off part of the Cliffside, sending chunks of rock flying. 'Woah,' Ash breathed, 'What the heck is going on?' he circled his arms around Pikachu protectively. 'Isn't the noise going to scare all the pokémon?'

Suddenly, one of the trucks seemingly lost control for no reason. Its front wheels disappeared under the ground. It tipped on its side, horn blaring, and crashed into the next truck, which skidded into the next one. The trucks piled on top of each other as drivers had no time to slow down and no room to go anywhere else. As the dust settled it revealed that all five of the trucks were now out of action. Drivers wriggled out the doors like fat worms and shouted at the mess as if it would go away if they yelled loud enough.

'What a wreck!' Misty said, clutching the corner of her shirt worriedly.

'This is terrible!' Brock agreed. 'We need to get down there and see if anyone was hurt.'

Another one of the truck doors creaked open and Ash, Misty and Brock slid down the side of the ditch and ran over. 'Are you okay?' They helped the man climb over the side of the truck and down onto the ground.

'I just can't take it anymore!' the man wailed, beating his fist on the dirt. 'It's the Diglet, they're destroying everything!' He flung his arms into the air, and started to sob. It was very strange to see a grown man cry so freely. His red eyes were swollen and puffy, which implied that he'd been bawling for most of the day.

'The diglet?' Ash echoed, confused. He glanced back at Misty and Brock for advice, who were backing away with head shakes and 'no way!' hand gestures. '_Not our problem!'_

'You see this? You _see _this mess?' The man waved his arms at the trucks. 'See! They're right over there!' the man grabbed the front of Ash's jacket, spinning him around. Small clusters of mole-like pokémon were popping in an out of the earth singing 'Dig, diglet, dig!' in small voices.

Ash looked confused. 'What, them? Causing all this trouble?' Ash raised an eyebrow and tried to politely pry the man's fingers off of his jacket.

'Oh look, how cute!' Misty squealed, springing out from behind Brock, who she had been using as a shield.

The man turned on her with a mad glint in his eyes. 'You think they're _cute?_ Thanks to them we can't finish building the dam that we're working on! I hate diglet, I HATE THEM!' roared the construction man.

Misty backed away slowly as the man beat on his helmet and chewed on his uniform. 'Uh, o-okay sir.' She and Brock were beginning to regret coming to the deranged man's aid.

Meanwhile, still only interested in the pokémon, 'Mnm, I wonder what kind of pokémon they are,' Ash mumbled, taking out his pokédex.

_**: Diglet. The movement of these ground pokémon can be easily detected by their tracks of upturned earth:**_

'I don't see any upturned earth.'

'That's because the ground here is covered in concrete!'

'Oh, so they're underneath,' Ash finished, finally catching on.. The concrete had begun to show cracks now that he looked closely, and he could trace the lines from the diglet to the truck-wreck.

'It looks like I won't achieve my dream of building the Dam here in these mountains,' sighed the construction man, resuming his hopeless posture. 'We've been here for months without any progress.'

'That blasting is part of building a dam?' Brock said incredulously, covering his ears as another one of the large rocks jutting out of the cliff was blown to pieces, showering the ground with debris. 'Have you considered what building the dam is doing to the environment? I hope those blasts are controlled.'

'Yes, Yes! But the problem is we can't get any building supplies into the site because of all this DIGLET!' he spat. 'We've called in all the available pokémon trainers to help us get rid of the diglet-'

Ash exchanged glances with Misty and Brock. What a stroke of luck! If they stayed and helped the man with the diglet, they would have somewhere to stay the night and proper meals! Ash got excited at the thought.

'Hey, we're three available pokemon trainers at your service!' Ash grinned, stepping up. Pikachu leapt into his arms. 'We'd be happy to help.'

'Oh, so you're the first squad of trainers we called in.' the man said, suddenly looking very relieved and a lot more friendly. 'If you can get rid of the diglet I will give you free hotel tickets, and free invitations to the opening of the dam.'

'Uh, well, we weren't exactly called in, but-' Before Ash could finish his sentence he was nearly run over by a gleaming red sports car. He dived out of the way just in time, rolling over in the dirt and ending up in a messy sprawl. His mouth opened and closed as he saw who stood on the hood of the car and he gave a strangled cry of outrage.

'The first pokémon trainers have arrived!' yelled an annoyingly familiar voice behind them. Gary had just shown up, although the road was totally trashed. 'The rest are in these buses!' he announced, happy as a clam. He obviously hadn't seen Ash yet. 'Huh? Who are-' Gary turned to look at Ash and then broke into a wide grin that was a little too friendly. 'Weeeell, if it isn't little Ash from Pallet. What are you doing here?' he sniffed, 'Only the best were invited. Like me: Gary.' Gary leaped off of his pedestal and pointed at him. 'Ash is fourth!'

'Fourth?' Ash spluttered in dismay. 'I'm better that that!' he added defiantly.

'No no no, _no,_' Gary waved, looking at Ash pityingly. 'You were the fourth to leave _home_, but as a trainer you're dead-_last!' _Gary leered. He had stepped closer to Ash and was still pointing at him with a triumphant grin. He couldn't help noticing Ash's butt was parked in the dirt for a second time. He gave the boy an appreciative once over, liking this new tradition.

'So Ash; who're your friends? I'm surprised you even have any. Me? I've got the girls to travel with, so I was beginning to feel sorry for you- but now I needn't worry.' He said to Misty and Brock, 'Careful he doesn't hold you back.'

'He's very...' Misty started at a loss,

'...Detestable,' Brock concluded.

'You don't need to tell me,' Ash grumbled under his breath, hunching his shoulders defensively as Gary returned to his favourite prey leaned over him. Had Gary grown another inch? Ash certainly hoped not. He eyed him warily. The other's shadow was shading his eyes from the sun.

'So Ash, have you picked up any good pokémon?' Gary asked, almost sounding normal. He inspected his nails.

'Of course I have!' Ash said getting up off of the ground. He opened his jacket a little to get to his belt, where his pokéballs were. 'You wanna see-' he began to ask happily when Gary cut his sentence. 'No thanks, Ash. Only armatures show off their pokémon.' He hummed contentedly, looking like a meowth that had just scavenged a large piece of unspoiled chicken from the dingiest trash can in town.

'Well, that's all I have time for. I have a job to do.' Garry trilled, seeming not to notice the fact that Ash had frozen up. He jumped into the seat of his red sports car and was lost in the crowd of girls perched on every available inch of car. 'See you losers later!' he said, laughing. He drove away in a cloud of dust, leaving Ash staring after him.

Ash blinked, staying silent for a long minute. Then he keeled over.

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**

Brock, Misty and Ash didn't have a flashy sports car to zoom around in so they had to settle for walking up the rest of the rocky slope to the construction site. They had to pick their way around the fallen rubble and the freshly destroyed road, watching out for nastily sharp slivers of rock and the lose stones that were unstable footing.

'You know, it would be better to reach the construction site through the forest,' Brock said, kicking a rock out of Misty's way. She was walking daintily because she had tripped, twisting her ankle. She hobbled along wincing. She smiled at Brock sheepishly when he had to lift her over another rock and thanked him quietly.

'We'll just get lost,' she disagreed, shaking her head with exasperation.

'But if I follow the map-' Brock explained patiently, reaching into his backpack.

'Your map got us into this mess!' Misty reminded him. She stopped walking and leaned over to check her ankle again. 'Ash, could you slow down a little! We can't keep up!'

The boy paused reluctantly. 'But if we don't hurry, Gary will get there first and then I really will be a loser!' Ash called over his shoulder. He'd been charging ahead of Misty and Brock for a good five minutes. He couldn't help thinking that Misty was sometimes very inconvenient. He squinted, shading his eyes so he could see further up the road. 'Come on, we're nearly there!' he wheedled, shooting Brock a desperate glance.

As the 'adult' of the group, Brock had to make a decision. Taking care of Ash and Misty was turning out to be a lot harder than looking after his younger siblings ever had been. 'Okay Ash, why don't you go ahead,' Brock sighed, wondering if he were making a very bad decision, 'But don't do anything you'll regret later. Misty and I'll get there soon enough.' He put his arm around Misty and helped her over yet another boulder.

'Kaaaay,' Ash called, already sprinting away before he heard the full reply. Pikachu jumped onto his head to act as a lookout so they could avoid any obstacles. By himself Ash was able to reach the construction site somewhat before Misty and Brock, but the three vans full of trainers had already arrived. There were some picnic tables set up and the trainers were having lunch. He didn't see Gary's sport car though, and couldn't help but hope he'd just gone home.

'This place sure is big, Pikachu.' Ash murmured, staring up the side of the cliff where the mini explosions were still happening.

'Pi ka,' his pokemon agreed, darting around his legs in small circles. Ash looked up at the unfinished dam, which was already starting to take shape. Although there hadn't been many materials coming in, it looked light the dam was quite far along. It would be huge when it was finished- if it was ever going to be finished. The diglet were doing an excellent job of stopping the project. He found himself rooting for the small creatures.

'If this project is finished I wonder where all of the diglet will go. I haven't seen many forests like this,' Ash continued, speaking his thoughts for Pikachu's benefit. Pikachu stopped running around and fell back beside Ash. It was times like these where Pikachu wished he could speak to Ash, but he was just a pokémon. He settled for being there quietly for his trainer. He shared pretty much the same opinions as his trainer, and he wondered whether this was Ash's personality creeping in on his own or some of his thoughts rubbing off on Ash. Either way, he had never thought about anything this much when he was a wild pokémon, or during the time he had spent at Professor Oak's lab.

Ash wondered along the outside of the camp, but strayed into the trees where is was prettier and he could only hear the blasts faintly. It was a little sad; the landscape was beginning to look ugly from all the machines and disturbance from the construction team. His mind wandered back to that morning, and Gary.

What right did Gary have to tease and taunt Ash whenever they met? Was it because he had called them rivals? Gary didn't just annoy Ash, he infuriated him! Gary even left him little notes just to annoy him. On the Cerulean City road sign he had scrawled: 'Gary was here, Ash is a loser!' in the bottom right hand corner. Vandalism was a crime! Maybe Officer Jenny would like to hear about that little incident.

He chuckled to himself and smiled at Pikachu. 'Alright buddy, time for a nap. Brock'n'Misty'll prob'ly be ages.' Ash yawned, leaning against a tree. Pikachu curled up against Ash's side and sighed contentedly. They hadn't realised that someone had been following them through the camp- and no, funnily enough it wasn't team rocket. It was a confused ten year old with green eyes and spiky brown hair, who had no idea what he was doing following Ash into the forest.

He watched Ash's eyelashes flutter close, and his breaths grow deep and peaceful. He stared down at his rival, with the same condescending grin he'd worn that morning.

'I should have known you'd just be looking for a place to take a nap,' Gary said aloud, boldly. Pikachu's ears twitched but Ash didn't stir, too soundly asleep. 'You snooze, you lose Ash,' Gary chuckled. He'd said those very words to Ash the day they had started their journeys. If it hadn't been for Gary's earlier pity, he wouldn't be in this mess he thought, walking into the clearing. He had hoped that he wouldn't encounter Ash on their separate travels, but here they both were yet again. There had been two lesser meetings, but they hadn't really exchanged anything meaningful. Gary had only been able to get a few jabs in before having to leave, and then he was left wondering what Ash was doing.

Gary sat down cross-legged, opposite Ash, just watching him as his chest rose and fell slowly. There was something strange about this Ash, though, that Gary hadn't recognised the boy at first sight. Something about him had changed, but what? It certainly wasn't the boy's sleeping habits.

Gary scanned Ash's sleeping face. It was still round and chubby; he still had big eyes and a small pointed nose. He didn't look any tougher or stronger- and he hadn't learned how to control his pokémon at all. The Pikachu Ash had received that first day was still out of its pokéball. It was probably just a cute pet to Ash. It was a total joke! Gary's face remained emotionless, but inside he was playing a mental tug of war. Ash was drawing him in- and Gary had to keep yanking the rope back. There was something hypnotic about the boy's deep breaths.

'I bet you don't even have one badge,' Gary said a little louder, but not quite loud enough to wake the two. Neither pokémon nor trainer moved. He licked his lips nervously and then crawled over to Ash on his hands and knees with sudden curiosity. 'Now, where would I keep my badges if I were a looser...' he muttered, enjoying the sound of his voice. The sound of the word 'Loser' and what it meant to him. It meant 'Ash'.

He reached out and pulled back Ash's jacket. Bingo. All five of his badges were pinned to the inside of his jacket. Wait a second. He counted them again. _All _five_ badges. _Gary hadn't thought Ash would have that many, maybe one-no, two maybe. Okay, at least three if Gary was going to still think he was worthy of attention.

His brow furrowed in concentration. Ash was catching up, he couldn't ignore that. Maybe it wasn't just an unlucky coincidence that Ash was here too. He leaned back with a sigh. It was happening again. The soft breathy sound of Ash's mouth-breathing was getting to him. _Use your nose, stupid, _he silently rebuked, flicking the boy's nose. He knew it was perfectly safe. Ash was a very heavy sleeper. He shouldn't know that about him. Not anymore.

He slowly eased himself away and rolled to the side, beside Ash, leaning back against the tree. They weren't touching, but he could feel Ash's presence.

_Stupid Ash._

It was a moment, darn. Ash was slumped against the tree snoring softly and Gary was beside him, leaning with one leg tucked against him and the other outstretched. He sighed again, but this time in defeat.

Gary got up and left the clearing quietly ten minutes later, making a face at Ash although he was still fast asleep and didn't possibly need to be reminded that Gary didn't hate, but strongly _disliked _him.

**

* * *

**

That evening, all of the pokémon trainers gathered at the site. Ash had enjoyed the buffet that had gone on all day, and so had Brock and Misty- who had found Ash asleep, yelled at him for a while and then gone to eat by themselves. They packed away some of the less perishable foods for the road, putting all the heavy stuff in Ash's backpack in retaliation.

Ash had spent the rest of the afternoon by the picnic tables with Pikachu, talking quietly and sometimes catching glimpses of Gary staring at him with a funny look on his face. Ash never let on that he had seen the looks, and instead pulled faces.

A large wooden stage had been put up so that the head construction man could address the crowd. A few tent-like structures had been raised for the guests to stand under. 'Thanks all of the trainers who have given up some time from their training to help us get rid of the diglet!' the man with the megaphone began immediately, before there was total silence. Ash, Misty and Brock were in the middle of the crowd of trainers, talking amongst themselves.

'There sure are a lot of people here,' whispered Ash, looking around at all of the different trainers. This only reminded him that if he wanted to be a pokémon master it wasn't just Gary he would have to go through to become champion.

'You, with the pikachu on your head, listen with your ears instead of with your mouth!' scolded the megaphone.

'You think the least he could do is yell at me by name!' Ash cringed, covering his ears. A few people turned all the way around to look at him, and then back to the stage, as was the way of crowds.

'Don't be daft; he doesn't know what your name is.' Misty laid a hand on his shoulder, but Ash wasn't in the mood to be comforted.

'Then tell him my name is Ash Ketchum, the loser from Pallet,' He sunk to the ground and hugged his knees.

'Is this still about Gary? You can still catch up!' Brock assured him, patting Ash on the shoulder awkwardly.

A projector was set up and the man took out a few slides, pinching them between his thumb and index finger as if he didn't really want to touch them. He clicked to the first slide, a badly drawn picture of the diglet. Several trainers lost the battle to keep straight faces. The disgruntled man continued regardless. 'Pokémon trainers, here you see diglet, the greatest of parasitic pokémon of the century-'

'Just a minute!' Gary objected from somewhere in the front. 'Technically Diglet is not a bug pokémon. As a matter of fact the term mole pokémon would be more appropriate,' he continued in a lecturing tone. 'With a height of eight inches and a weight of two pounds they're hardly candidates to be called 'the greatest' anything.'

_That show-off, _Ash thought. It must come from being the Professor's grandson. He tried to look through the crowd to where Gary was sitting, but the place was thick with people. He gave up, massaging a crick in his neck with a scowl.

'They may be small, but together they destroy.' The man was tapped on the shoulder. He had forgotten to turn his megaphone off and they heard him whine 'Oh, oh! It's them!'

'Honestly, you'd think it was the end of the world,' Misty huffed as all of the trainers turned around to look at where the man was pointing.

The ground shifted and a small diglet tunnelled under one of the trainers' buses that was parked to the side. There was a shuddering sound as the ground underneath the truck gave way. 'Dig, diglet dig diglet dig!' The small mole pokémon popped up and began singing.

'You see? They're taunting me- someone, do something.'

'I'll take care of this!' Gary announced proudly. The crowd parted to let him through. His fan club of women he'd met on the bus journey danced behind him, and the effect on Brock was instantaneous, rendering him gooey-eyed and completely oblivious. 'Now everyone will be able to see the top pokémon trainer in action!' Gary took out a pokéball from his pocket with a flourish and pressed it to his lips. 'This should do the trick!'

The pokéball fired from his hand with a grace that Ash knew he could never achieve. Gary looked so cool and confident that the other trainers didn't take out their own pokémon, they probably wouldn't need to. The ball hit the ground and opened. The red light energy of the pokémon beamed out and Ash held his breath along with the others, waiting to see what kind of pokémon it was.

But there was a problem; as soon as the pokémon began to take form it disappeared- sucking itself back into the pokéball.

'Haywhat?' Gary exclaimed. Bending over and picking up the pokéball. He examined it, then held it and pointed towards the small clusters of mole pokémon. He let it fall out of his hand.

'It won't come out!' Ash affirmed, striding over to stand on Gary's right. The pokéball lay still on the earth. Gary was just staring at it, a slow flush creeping over his cheeks. His eyes darted toward Ash furtively.

Ash felt like he could purr with satisfaction. Gary had probably never had this problem before- and in front of all these people, too! Ash would have been happy to dance around his rival and make jokes about how his pokémon were too scared of a bunch of moles to come out of their pokéballs, but he was just as concerned as Gary. His brow was furrowed in concentration. 'What's wrong, why won't it come out?'

'Pikachu...' Pikachu knew it was probably futile to try and explain.

A diglet burrowed under the earth and lifted up the pokéball, tunnelling it back to Gary.

'Oh, thanks,' he said with one hand on the back of his head apologetically. 'Waaait, this can't happen! Okay, I can take care of this; I'll just bring out my best pokémon!' Gary kissed the ball three times and held it in his hand for a few seconds, just staring.

_Stop making out with your pokémon and just throw it! _Ash was thinking.

'Go gettam!' Gary cried, tossing the ball. It didn't even open when it hit the ground. 'What's going on here?' Gary whined. He looked confused, and a little put out. He was still holding out his hand, his fingers splayed delicately as if he had just broken a nail. 'I'll show them, I'll use every pokémon I have!' he yelled, his voice raising an octave. He began chucking pokéballs as fast as he could, but the construction man stepped in front of him.

'Somebody stop them, stop the diglet!' he wailed and the other trainers began to throw their pokémon too. A towering mound of pokéballs began to form, just lying on the ground. None of them so much as twitched. The diglet began to tunnel the pokémon back to their befuddled owners who whispered 'thank you' and stared after them in astonishment.

'At least they're polite,' Misty said, scratching her head.

'Yuh, and unstoppable,' Brock pointed out.

'Alright, now it's my turn!' Ash crowed- ready to show that Gary who was boss of all things pokémon. 'As long as they're underground, I'll use squirtle! Squirtle, I chose-'

'Pika!' Pikachu crossed his arms and jumped up to stop Ash.

'I can't stop now!' Ash complained, and the pokéball fell from his hand. It shuddered but squirtle didn't come out.

'They won't come out,' Gary said from Ash's shoulder, 'None of them.' Ash hadn't even noticed he was still there. He looked a lot less bratty and more serious than Ash had seen him before.

'Huh?'

Gary sighed heavily and looked at Ash slantedly, as if he were wondering if Ash was really just that stupid. 'For some reason the pokémon don't want to battle the diglet,' Gary explained simply.

'Why wouldn't they battle?' Ash asked before he could stop himself. He cursed. He shouldn't be talking to Gary like they were friendly or something. To his surprise Gary didn't say anything offensive, but he paused before answering which probably mean he was making an effort not to.

'I just can't figure it out,' he said softly.

_I'll ask my own pokémon expert, then. _'Is that right, Pikachu?'

'Pi kachu,' he nodded.

The construction man was busy playing whack-a-mole with the diglet- who avoided him and kept popping up again. Although they weren't being malicious, only curious, the guy was foaming at the mouth. Gary caught Ash's eye and they watched the poor man slowly losing his sanity.

'Well, that's not going to work,' Gary remarked. 'Diglet isn't very strong, but it makes up for it in speed.' He smiled at Ash, his teeth dazzlingly white. Ash could almost see why girls thought he was so handsome.

'Wow, you've been studying, huh?' Ash said, actually very impressed by what Gary was saying.

'Yeah I've been studying. Unlike _you.'_

_'Agh!' _Ash twitched, falling over. Every cell was in agony... Gary hadn't even said it in that whining, smirking voice which he used to tease Ash. He'd said it so bluntly!

'Well that's it. I'm gone.' Ash looked up from his position on the ground questioningly. Gary couldn't help but notice the boy looked quite sweet. 'Look, since no one's pokémon will come out and battle, there's no reason for any trainers to be here; unless they want to watch this arcade game.' Gary drawled.

The trainers blinked at him, all feeling a little like idiots.

'Hey, where are you going?' Ash cried, stumbling after Gary.

He flashed a smile at Ash and hopped into the car with ease. 'To the hotel, where else? Come on fans.' He cocked his head. 'Ya know Ash, I think I'll leave this job to you. My talents are needed elsewhere. Also, it looks like you need the food.' The engine revved, and Ash had to back away as the wheels spun on the dust. 'I'll see you when I see you!' Gary lifted a hand in parting and the car sped up the slope.

'That jerk!' Misty seethed. 'He's so lazy.'

'He's the same age as Ash, and he's got all those _women_!' Brock moaned tragically.

'Ahhh, I don't like him!' said Ash.


	3. Full Circle

**Author Note: This chapter is personally the one I like the best X'D I think I did an okay Job. This is 'Battle of the Badge'**

Ash walked steadily; his movements were strong and purposeful. Misty and Brock flanked him as they had for the last year, equally determined. The three had become a solid unit as they travelled from town to town. They had had numerous adventures and survived countless attacks by Team Rocket, Pikachu still intact. Said pokémon looked less cute but more tough; there was a certain electric energy about it that you wouldn't expect from just any Pikachu. It glanced up at Ash, and smiled his Pikachu smile.

The boy had also changed, too. Ash's face had lost a great deal of its chubby roundness and his jaw was more defined. His hair was more choppy because he had to cut it himself while travelling. He was a definitely leaner, though still painfully short. There was defiance in the slant of his eyebrows and a challenging glint in his eyes that showed his fighting spirit and willingness to prove he wasn't just any brat.

Ash, Misty and Brock had finally made it to Viridian City where Ash was going to get his eighth and final badge- which meant he would be eligible to compete in the Pokémon League. The last time they had been in Viridian (which was a whole year ago) Ash hadn't had a chance to even check out the gym. Now he was full of energy and confidence. He couldn't possibly lose; not with Pikachu by his side. They were walking down the middle of the road side by side. Misty was on the left cradling Togepi, Ash was in the middle with Pikachu trotting behind him, and Brock stayed on the right.

In the year that the three had been travelling Viridian had changed. Their walk through the town became somewhat of a sight-seeing as Brock and Misty pointed out all of the new buildings to Ash, who having no recollection of Viridian before it had changed was forced to nod his head and smile, albeit distractedly.

'Look, there's the new pokémon centre,' Misty said, cuddling togepi and helping it to wave at the shiny new addition to the city. She had mellowed since becoming the honorary 'mother' of the egg pokémon, and her voice was softer and warmer, reminding Ash of his mother. She also seemed to have forgiven him for the damage done to her bike at last, having not mentioned it for months. He wasn't about to jog her memory though. The tired-looking Nurse Joy manning the desk spotted them through the glass and beamed. She waved back and some of the trainers in the waiting room peered over their magazines at the odd trio as they passed.

'And there's the gym,' Brock stopped walking. He led them over to the fountain outside the entrance so that they could sit down. He took off his rucksack and placed it at his feet, sighing as the weight was finally taken off his feet. Misty also made an appreciative sound. She sank onto the stony edge of the fountain as if it were a comfortable feather cushion and not just a slab of grey, slightly mottled rock. She splashed the sparkling water playfully and let her fingers catch the trickles of water being spouted, immediately feeling much better for the rest.

Ash remained standing. He turned to address Brock and Misty with a wide grin, his dark eyes sparking in excitement. 'I have seven badges; I only need one more to get into the Pokémon League. This is going to be a piece of cake! How'd you like to be a champion, Pikachu?'

'Pika!' Pikachu scampered unto Ash's shoulders and they grinned at each other. Ash's eyes were warm and full of love. Pikachu was more than just a pokémon, he was his lifelong friend.

'But first you're going to have to go inside,' Misty pointed out with some amusement. The Viridian Gym was a Romanesque building made of a grey-white stone. It had thick pillars and steps leading up to the entrance. The massive iron doors were being guarded by two imposing looking soldiers dressed in armour. Ash gulped as he looked at them, noticing their stony faces and weapons.

'Those guys look friendly,' Ash laughed nervously. He glanced at Brock and Misty. He couldn't have them thinking he was a coward. 'I'm not scared. With a friend like Pikachu I'll win for sure!' Ash crowed. He clasped Pikachu's hands and they stared into each others' eyes. 'Isn't that right, Pikachu?'

Brock's eyes watered at the touching scene. 'A boy and his pokémon!' he sniffed, dabbing his eyes with a lacy handkerchief. Brock still displayed some maternal qualities in him from the days when he had had to take care of all of his younger siblings. Ash had been seriously surprised to discover that Brock was such a soft touch. When they had first met his heart was as hard as the rock pokémon he trained; Brock mercilessly crushed Ash and Pikachu in their first battle, giving Ash a wake-up call and ultimately leading to a creative win the second and final time the two had battled. Brock was now his valuable friend and teacher. It was true that his knowledge mostly centred on his rock pokémon, but the teen was aiming to be a pokémon breeder and had made it his business to know as much about the different types of pokémon he could.

Misty also watched Ash and Pikachu with a soft smile. If Brock was his friend, then who was Misty? After all, she was only sticking around because he had totalled her bike. And she somehow expected him to be able to buy her another one. Even though he was broke and they spent the majority of their travels foraging for edible plants, even sneaking some of the pokémon food Brock made to supplement their special diet 'If it's edible, it's going in my mouth!' that they had all become so very, very used to. The truth was that Misty was also his friend. She may spend hours scolding and nagging, but half the time she was actually right. The other half she was _still _right, even though Brock and Ask knew she wasn't- but god pity the fool who actually pointed it out to her.

Ash turned towards the gym. It was a cold building and looked almost industrial. A contrast to the pervious gyms that Ash had been to, which all had themes and a fierce but encouraging energy to them, the Viridian gym seemed to be sapping the life out of the coloured bricks of the square that it was the centre of. He was getting a familiar sense of foreboding from it too, but he brushed off the elusive hint. Worst of all were the guards though. They looked like statues; unforgiving and unmoving.

'It's a gym- they all have their quirks. Those guys are nothing more than glorified props!'

'Sh'up Misty, tell that to their axes. Those look pretty real to me,' Ash grumbled. 'Besides, shouldn't we get something to eat? I'm pretty hungry.' He feigned disinterest and stubbornly refused to look back at the doors to the gym. He could feel cold eyes on him. 'You're hungry too, right Brock?' he asked the older boy.

'Well sure, but I'm also tired of hearing gym-battle this, gym-battle that,' Brock said. He scrunched his already narrow eyes until they disappeared under his heavy eyebrows. 'You've battled on an empty stomach before. Also...' he looked up sheepishly, 'We need you to win this battle for another reason. We're out of cash.'

Brock paused to let his declaration sink in. Misty stared at him for a while before she exploded. It didn't take much for her fiery temper to make an appearance at the best of times. 'What, again?' Misty groaned. 'But I really, really need a new pair of shoes! Mine are falling to pieces.'

_That_ touching scene didn't last, however. All three trainers wheeled around warily. A gleaming red sports car veered off of the road and drove straight for the gym, stopping short of ploughing into Ash. He snatched up Pikachu just in time, protecting him as he jumped out of the way.

'Hey, you nearly ran over my pokémon!' Ash yelped at the offending car. His arms were out behind him to support the stunned pokémon recovering on his stomach and his legs splayed.

Gary laughed scornfully. 'Still playing with your cute little poke-pals, eh Ash?' He vaulted out of the car gracefully. 'I must say, I never expected to see you here. I figured you'd given up and gone back to Pallet.' His eyes travelled down Ash's body to take in his somewhat humiliating position. Ash scrambled to his feet and slapped his worn jeans to get some of the dust off of them.

Ash turned around slowly. It had been half a year since he'd heard that voice. He practically dropped Pikachu when he realised he was face-to-face with Gary Oak, his rival. His stomach did a little flip. 'What? How dare you!' Ash growled. Gary pranced just out of reach, so close- but far enough away that Ash couldn't swipe at him.

Brock laid a hand on Ash's shoulder so he couldn't pull away or get any closer to Gary. Ash was shaking with anger, and some other unknown feeling. He wouldn't mind wiping the smirk off of Gary Oak's mouth with a punch to his perfect face. The taller boy's eyes gleamed.

'I bet you don't even have enough badges to enter the Pokémon League,' Gary sighed theatrically, leaning against his car as if he were faint. The girls in the backseat cooed, and one leaned over to cradle his head in her lap ('there, there, Garykins!'). It made Ash feel rather more hostile.

'I only need one more badge!' protested Ash, wrinkling his nose, 'So you can get rid of that smirk.'

Something like surprise flashed across his face, but then Gary returned to his exaggerated display of pity. 'Well Ash you have a lot of catching up to do.' He reached into his back pocket and took out a slim orange wallet. He held it up to Ash's nose and it opened, revealing not eight, but _ten _gym badges! 'I don't even know why you bother. Me? I'm just killing time until the pokémon league. This is just practice, and I bet I won't even get a proper workout.'

'How did he get so many?' Misty asked, voicing Ash's confusion. She stepped in to see the badges and pushed Ash out of the way. He took a dazed step away from the two. Gary held the badges in a somewhat normal fashion for Misty to examine them. He didn't seem to have any special problems with being civil to her.

_No way, Gary has ten badges? What have I been doing wrong? _Ash seethed. Gary may be the same show off that he always had been, but he had ten badges to back his bragging. Gary was still smiling. The feeling that was bothering Ash had been getting worse over time. Gary's tiny hint of superiority had turned into something terrifying; a grin that split his face and lit up his eyes. Ash found it a little hard to breathe being faced with such an expression.

Gary snapped the orange wallet shut and passed it to the girls. It disappeared somewhere into the sea of manicured nails. He was smiling to himself, satisfied that he had humiliated the other boy enough. 'Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to challenge the gym leader. I'll show him how a real pokémon trainer battles.'

'Yeah Gary, you go show him like you showed the diglet's,' Ash said sarcastically. 'I'm starting to believe you're all talk.' He squared up to Gary, planting himself firmly in his way.

'What's this Ash? You don't really feel so threatened by me that you're going to sink to my level?' He sidled over to Ash with raised eyebrows. 'Why don't you come watch me? I'm sure you'll learn something.' He leaned closer to Ash and his eyes flashed dangerously. 'Maybe I can even get you to turn around and say 'Pikachu' this time.' Gary's warm breath tickled the corner of Ash's jaw. He yanked Gary's shirt, earning a startled yelp from him as his chin tucked over Ash's shoulder in an awkward embrace.

'Don't you _dare.' _Ash hissed. He had told nobody, NOBODY about that! 'I'm not ever going to do something like that; I'll come- to watch you lose. I hope the gym leader wipes the floor with you.' He punctuated this with a shove. His back was tingling where Gary's chin had jabbed him.

'Fine,' Gary stuck his tongue out.

'Fine!' Ash yelled.

'Ugh, those two are so irritating!' Misty threw her hands in the air. Brock nodded.

'Is this going to happen every time we meet Gary?' he asked.

'I guess so,' said Misty, glaring at the two boys. No way were she and Brock going to be dragged into the bickering.

Finally, Gary strode toward the door. He cast a last look at Ash before announcing:

'My name is Gary Oak, from Pallet, and I formally request a battle with the gym leader,' The guards barely moved. They tapped their weapons on the ground and the door started to open slowly. Gary's fan club followed him in, chatting excitedly about how Gary was going to win. Ash started to follow them but he was stopped.

The guards drew their weapons and blocked Ash's path. 'Only one trainer at a time,' they stated.

'But I have to get inside!' Ash whined, 'I'm the next challenger!'

'Ha! I guess I'm not the only one who knows you're a loser!' Gary's harsh laughter only made Ash want to get in more desperately.

Deciding to take charge, Misty caught Ash's wrist. 'Come on; let's just wait until Gary comes out. If he's as good as he says he is the match should be over soon and then you can get your earth badge,'

Brock said 'You were right. We're all hungry and could do with getting something to eat. If you battle a trainer we can at least get something to drink.'

'Okay, but only because we haven't eaten since yesterday,' Ash grumbled. He jammed his hands in his pockets and started after Misty and Brock. Pikachu leapt back onto his shoulders and patted him on the head reassuringly. He looked back at the doors, his gaze lingering at the spot where Gary's head had disappeared. He turned away, bitterly disappointed.

* * *

Gary didn't wait to see if Ash would actually come in to watch the battle. He didn't really care anyway. He had nothing to prove to Ash. Gary already knew he was the best. He shrugged and strode in through the door. _What a loser._ Still, it didn't explain why Gary was so happy the moron nearly had seven badges. It meant he wouldn't have to wait another year to challenge the pokémon league. Wait...wait for him? He blinked in the semi-darkness of the hallway. That had been something he hadn't quite wanted to admit. He would probably wait for Ash if he wasn't ready. Suddenly the pokémon league didn't mean much unless...unless Ash was also competing. He mulled this over, turning this new realisation around in his mind.

The gym was pretty dark for a pokémon gym, not at all like what Gary was expecting. It was also pretty bare. The gym leader was sitting against the light and Gary couldn't see anything of his features. His silhouette revealed he was sitting in an armchair, stroking a persian. _Persian's are the evolved form of meowth. Is he going to fight with it or is it just a fancy pet? Well, those things are pretty mean. I guess this guy is bad news if the pokémon he identifies with such a temperamental pokémon. _When he reached the painted white line of the court, the gym leader spoke.

'I am the Viridian gym leader. Who are you?' The man's voice sounded as if he was beneath talking to a kid. _I'll sure show you, and it'll be a lesson you'll never forget, _Gary thought grimly. He was used to being underestimated at first. That was what made beating all those gym leaders worth it; the looks on their faces when they finally recognised how great he was...that and having ten fancy badges to make Ash squirm. He licked his lips to wet them before he spoke.

'I'm Gary Oak, the best pokémon trainer in Pallet,' he puffed out his chest proudly. His voice echoed loudly around the almost empty hall.

'Confident aren't you? Alright, I accept your challenge.' The gym leader's voice was a little sinister and Gary suppressed a shiver. No gym leader had ever been this unfriendly, or this creepy.

Gary found assurance in his fan club's cheers and took his place in the stadium, taking out a pokéball. It was just another gym battle. He had ten badges; he was unbeatable! Gary took a deep breath. The gym leader stayed on his platform.

_Okay... That's weird. Who does he think he is? Not good enough to come down and battle like a real man?_

'I chose Nidoking!' Gary called, releasing his pokéball. The pokémon beamed out, the laser-red flickering off of the cold walls, and Nidoking roared into existence. It stamped and lowered its horn.

'There will be three rounds; we each may use three pokémon. Victory goes to the pokémon left standing and the round ends. Golem, begin with a tackle,' the gym leader purred. A rock pokémon tumbled from the pokéball and curled into a ball. Its head disappeared as it prepared for maximum damage. Gary already knew how he was going to beat it.

Golems were solidly built but their strength was also a weakness to someone who knew what he was doing. Once the Golem got rolling it wasn't going to be able to control itself well. If he had chosen an agile pokémon it would just be a case of dodging and tiring the thing out. Nidoking however was not going to be able to dance around the court nimbly dodging its foe. All Gary had to do was direct it to throw the other pokémon off-kilter.

'Nidoking, use your own tackle, meet its attack head on!' he ordered. Nidoking bellowed and crashed into the golem, knocking it back with a sickening crack. The golem hit the wall, where it collapsed helplessly. Gary tried not to show his surprise. The guards pronounced Nidoking the winner. _One down, two to go. That was almost too easy, _Gary thought, very _un_easily. _But I'm winning!_ He felt a thrill at the thought.

'Impressive; let's see if you can handle this one. I'm not going to go easy on you now,' the gym leader added. _Patronisingly_, Gary thought. He took out his pokédex to get data on the pokémon. The red light blinked:

_**: Kingler, the evolved form of Crabby. :**_

'Kingler, crab hammer,' the Gym leader said pleasantly. He didn't seem so concerned that Gary was thrashing him. Well, he would be.

The kingler swung its claws at Nidoking, forcing it backwards. One of the claws hit the ground hard enough to break through the rock. _Okay, not such a great match for Nidoking._

'Nidoking return; arkcanine, I chose you!' Gary's face was serious as he took out a second pokéball and lobbed it onto the field. 'Arkcanine, use firespin!' he barked. A tunnel of flames shot from arkcanine's mouth and wrapped around the kingler so it couldn't escape. 'Finish it off with a fire blast!' Gary said.

The kingler didn't stand a chance. The firespin petered out, leaving a slightly charred kingler twitching in the middle of the court.

'We both know I'm way better than _you_ by now,' Gary said to the gym leader. 'Why don't you just give me the earth badge and save yourself the disappointment of losing to a kid?'

'I don't think this battle is over yet, I still want to try my strongest pokemon. Won't you humour me?' The gym leader leaned forward with a predatory grin, his teeth glinting. Gary could see his face for a second, and he shivered involuntarily. A door was opening opposite Gary, painfully slowly. The room seemed to go very cold and he could hear the sound of filtered breathing.

Gary whipped out his pokedex and pointed it at the alien pokemon, or what looked like a pokemon, trapped in some kind of robotic suit.

:_** No data **__**available**__**. :**_

'What is that thing?'

* * *

'Can we go in now? Pleeeease?' Ash whined.

'Ash, you're so annoying!' Misty yelled, whacking him.

'Ouch!'

'Hey, the guards are gone.'

'Aw great, how're we supposed to get in?'

'Ash, you and Misty get that door and I'll push this one. On the count of three: one, two, three-'

They worked their fingers into the doors and slowly pried them open. There was a low grating sound as the gears turned against their will, and finally there was a space large enough for them to squeeze inside.

Ash squinted through the darkness, wondering if Gary's match was still on. The only light came from the doorway, and it was hard to make out any shapes. He saw someone lying on the ground and he jumped.

'Hey, it's Gary!' Ash cried, stumbling into the darkness.

'Oh no the girls!' Brock simpered, looking almost as desperate as Ash. He skipped towards the ladies that were strewn across the floor like flowers ruined after a storm, flopped over each other delicately. He shed pieces of his sanity as he rushed over; becoming the gooey Brock who got hung up over every single Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy. Misty hurried after him, ready to make sure he didn't look up any skirts or give unnecessary mouth-to-mouth.

'Gary, hang on! Are you okay?' Ash asked in a harsh whisper. He got down on his knees by Gary's side.

Gary was lying on the ground, and he looked like he had been knocked out. Ash slid his hand under his rival's back and lifted him up gently, tilting his head. Gary's eyelids fluttered and he looked up at Ash, his eyes opening to stare directly at him. Ash froze.

'Oh, you're, um... okay,' he winced at the somewhat compromising position. Gary's green eyes were still a little hazy. His brown hair clung to his face and his skin was pale.

'Yeah,' Gary said. His gaze was unwavering and his eyes pierced into Ash. The younger boy's arms were around him. He was still a little too weak to hold himself up, or move out of the younger's embrace.

Ash's hands surrounded him protectively. Gary could feel the heat from his palms. His large eyes scanned Gary, making sure he was unhurt, but making him feel self-conscious in the process. Ash's hands were _very_ warm. Gary could feel where they touched him; one on the small of his back and the other on his stomach. Ash's shoulder was supporting his head so his nose was pressed into Ash's neck. _Awkward..._

'Hey Ash, do you wanna let me go now?' he mumbled with a faint flush to his cheeks.

'Ah!' Ash yelped retracting his arms and dropping Gary abruptly. He protested as he hit the floor with a thump, pain lancing his skull. His eyes squeezed shut and he sucked in a sharp breath.

Ash blushed furiously. He pressed his hands into his lap and looked straight down so Gary couldn't see his red face. His palms were still tingling with the lingering feeling of contact, and he could almost still feel Gary's breath on his neck. _What the heck was I doing? _He panicked.

Gary moaned. 'Aw, why'd you have to go and drop me?' he muttered, too softly for Ash to hear. He took another deep breath to deal with the pain. 'A pokémon I've never seen, it did this. But there was something different about it, it was... evil,' Gary huffed a little louder. He looked up at Ash, who was hiding his face. _Mnm, this is different, _he mused.

'Huh?' Ash crawled over again. 'But pokémon aren't evil.' He explained; 'Sure there are trainers who use pokémon to do their dirty work, but they aren't evil.' His mouth was set firmly. Gary's eyes flicked from Ash's eyes to his lips, and his own face coloured. He turned away.

'This one was! One thing's for sure though, no one will ever beat _that_ pokémon.'

'What about the gym leader? Where did he go?'

Gary huffed a faint laugh. It sounded more like a cough. 'Oh, him? He just left. There's an apology note and a bunch of cookies for you by the door. Better luck next year.'

Ash punched his arm. 'Jerk.'

'_Loser.' _Gary swiped at Ash and rolled onto his side. 'I should have known something was up. I beat his other two pokémon way too easily. Not that it isn't always easy for me.' He rose unsteadily to his feet and felt his head for a lump. He shrugged off Ash's arm when the other grudgingly offered to help support him and Ash slipped into a grumpy silence fuelled by the slight rejection. It was Gary's way of putting back the distance between them.

'Ah, ha ha ha ha haaaaa,' came a high girlish laugh from the corner. A figure materialised out of the darkness; Jessie. A spotlight followed her, casting a shadow against the wall. 'Prepare for trouble,' she recited, flicking her lustrous red hair.

'And make it double!' James appeared beside her.

'It's team rocket again!' Misty said accusingly. She ran over to Ash's side and glared into the spotlight, where Jessie was posing beside James. 'Can't you see that we haven't got any time to deal with you right now? There's something wrong with this gym.'

'You twerps! Why do you always have to interrupt us?' Jessie growled, shaking her fist.

'Yeah, this time is special,' James said, pouting. He flicked the rose he had been holding away and put his back to Jessie's.

'We're celebratin'!' Meowth grinned manically, 'because...'

'We've just been made honorary gym leaders!' Jessie beamed, holding out a small glittering badge. The earth badge.

'You're kidding, right?' Brock asked, quirking an eyebrow in disbelief. 'There has got to be something seriously wrong with the person who put you guys in charge.' He was standing beside Misty with his arms folded. There was a large red handprint on his face.

Jessie grinned wickedly. 'What's wrong? Scared to face us now that we're _gym leaders!' _she taunted. The small pin on her jacket flashed.

'That's it, I've had enough!' Ash yelled. 'There is something going on here and I'm going to get to the bottom of it. I challenge you to an official battle. If I win you have to give me that badge!' He took an angry step forward. 'And you have to promise you'll never come after Pikachu again.'

'Don't Ash!' Misty objected, but no one was listening to her.

'You asked for it,' Jessie chirped coyly. 'But at our gym there are some special rules. We can't guarantee the rat's safety, but you have my word as the prettiest gym leader in the world that I'll give you a badge. But only if you defeat us!' Meowth pressed a button on the remote control he was holding and two trainer's boxes rose in the stadium.

'Just step up there and we'll begin the match. Don't worry, if you can beat us we'll hand over the badge.'

'Team Rocket has morals,' James added.

'I've never seen them look so confident,' Brock muttered. He and Misty walked to the sidelines where Gary and his fan club were recovering. 'They might have something planned.'

'I'll say! That Team Rocket is a bunch of cheaters.'

Ash stepped into the battle podium. Pikachu stayed on the ground ready to go if Ash called him. He shot meowth a dirty look, who flinched at the countless memories of electric shocks he had received at the electric mouse. Team Rocket might be the new gym leaders but Ash had never lost a battle with them. This was the perfect opportunity to settle a score and show Gary what he was made of. The picture of Gary lying motionless on the floor nagged him. Was the incident connected to Team Rocket in some way? He gripped the rails tightly as he thought. He had better see what Jessie was going to do before he sent out Pikachu. She was probably expecting him to send out the electric type first.

'We'll each use three pokémon, just like a normal match. All pokémon go!' Jessie shouted, releasing all of her pokéballs at once. Instead of wheezing and arbok Jessie was using the gym pokémon, a fearsome bunch. There was the kingler Gary had fought earlier, along with a machamp and an angry looking rhydon. James giggled excitedly from the sidelines. 'We have the strongest pokémon! Prepare to lose!'

'Hey! That's not allowed!'

'Quiet twerps, we're the gym leaders here and we make all the rules!' James scolded Misty patronisingly.

Meowth echoed her. 'All of them! And that means we can toss you out on your keisters if you make another sound, got it?'

'Squirtle, I chose you!' Ash called and released his own pokémon. 'Let's go with your water gun attack,' he said, starting to think of his strategy.

Jessie smirked, 'Is that all you got? Hmph. This'll be over soon, little boy. Machamp, attack!'

Squirtle prepared to blast the machoke with his water gun, but the bulky pokémon ducked and swung at Squirtle with speed as well as force. Its massive palm connected and sent squirtle flying, a crushing blow.

'Squirtle-' Ash cried with concern, gripping onto the railing. Suddenly, electricity ripped through him- more intense than any shock received from Pikachu. Ash convulsed in pain. The podium glowed with blue electricity, zapping Ash with every hit squirtle took. 'Ahh!' he shuddered; every punch machoke threw at Squirtle the pain intensified. His knees buckled and he collapsed, his pupils dilating in pain. He panicked, unable to think or call out any instructions to the water pokémon. 'Ugh, Squirtle, return...' he said feebly, holding onto the bars of the box for support.

'What's wrong with Ash?' Misty asked Gary, who had the best view of the match.

'He can't win, machoke is too powerful,' Gary muttered, leaning against the wall. 'Also, there's something else wrong. It- it looks like he's in pain.' He leaned closer to get a better look at Ash, who was slumping against the rail. 'Ash!' Gary yelled, the cry ripping from his dry throat. He surprised himself with the intensity of his anger. 'What the heck did you do to him!'

'Oh, this is a very special match,' Jessie confirmed. 'He's going to feel all his Pokémon's pain. Not so eager to battle now, are you?' Jessie boasted. She smirked evilly. 'Let's finish him off. Kingler, bubble attack!'

'Go bulbasaur! Use your vine whip!' Ash retaliated. He cast another pokéball. The grass pokémon sprung back and avoided the first few bubbles. Ash's heart skipped a beat, now he was in control. _Okay bulbasaur, hang on just a little longer. _

The kingler wasn't going to give up that easily. It swung its massive claw and pinned bulbasaur, using its bubble attack to weaken it.

Ash knew how much it was going to hurt even before the trainer box shocked him. He screamed as the intense electric blue current danced through him, causing him a great deal of pain. His muscles twitched and jerked and he let out a keening sound.

'Ash, you can't win!' Gary yelled, 'Their pokémon are too strong! Just quit it already!'

'I won't give up, I've come too far to just quit now!' Ash hissed in-between the crackling shocks. He was struggling to stand and his knees shook with the effort. 'I trust my pokémon. We can do it!' Ash felt that if he could just get the upper hand he wouldn't have to worry about pain.

Ash knew that the only way to win now would be if his pokémon didn't get hit. 'Go pigeotto! Double edge attack.' Pidgeotto screeched, diving at the kingler with its sharp beak. It pummelled the kingler with its beating wings.

'Yeah! That's the spirit!' Brock cheered. Misty whooped and togepi trilled.

Jessie scowled. Suddenly, she felt an electric zap, like she'd been… shocked. Her eyes widened in panic. 'James! Why did you rig both of the boxes! Turn it off, turn it off!' Jessie shrieked as the electricity coursed through her. The tables were turned.

'I didn't think it would matter, it didn't occur to me that we would lose!' James sulked.

'Don't worry- all I have to do is press this button and bye-bye competition!' Meowth quipped, waving his remote. He hadn't noticed that Gary had snuck up to them, edging around the court and using the shadows as cover.

'Oh no you don't!' Gary snarled, tackling Meowth to the ground. The remote control skittered across the floor.

Jessie squealed as the podium continued to zap her, and her concentration was cut. She thought of the only thing she could do, cheat. She fished out her own pokémon with a nasty sneer. 'Wheezing, Arbok, go!'

'Hey, that's against the rules!' Misty said shrilly. Her eyes were glistening with angry tears.

'I make the rules in this gym,' Jessie spat, her hair frizzling around her.

Ash was standing again, almost recovered. 'Well in that case, go Pikachu!' he shouted.

'Pika!' the electric mouse scampered forward with a determined look. 'Pika... Chuuu!' A bolt of electricity slammed into Wheezing and Arbok, lighting up the room.

Wheezing and Arbok were stopped in their tracks by the massive bolt, and the gym pokémon ran away to escape a similar fate. Pikachu did a little victory dance, and squirtle, pigeotto and bulbasaur jumped up and down happily. Ash leaped off of the trainer box and ran to hug Pikachu. His pokémon surrounded him, all looking genuinely concerned as they prodded him. He spread his arms and they all huddled together, Ash laughing and congratulating them for their brilliant job. He was so proud of them!

* * *

'Hey, what're you doing out here?' Ash asked, sticking his head around the door. Gary looked up from his seat on the steps. It was evening now, and the sun was casting golden light and lengthening shadows. Ash's face was flushed from the excitement. There were smudges on his cheeks and clothes from being electrocuted, and his hair looked singed. He grinned at Gary. 'Doncha wanna see _my _new badge?' He held up the Earth Badge in his fingers carefully, brown eyes teasingly seeking to engage Gary's.

Gary's eye twitched. He wouldn't say anything. Not a damn thing. Ash had earned the right to gloat, this time. He looked away despondently and stood up.

Ash grabbed his arm suddenly.

'Aw, don't be like that Gary. Here, I'll let you hold it.' Ash crooned, gently prying Gary's fingers open and popping the badge onto his palm. 'See, isn't that much better?' he hummed sweetly, batting his eyes.

Not. A. DAMNED. THING. Gary's mouth twitched involuntarily.

Ash brushed against him as he turned Gary's hand. The badge caught some of the fading sunlight and cast a rainbow on the boy's face. 'It's alright,' Ash continued, 'I could call Team Rocket back for you so you could get your own.' He smacked his head lightly. 'Oh, wait- they seem to be a little hung up. Maybe next year.'

Gary snarled inwardly.

'Gary, isn't it preeeetty?'

_Screw this. _Gary opened his eyes and looked at the badge. He held it up in the evening sunlight, as if to admire it, but then he curled his fingers around it. He pulled his arm as far back as it would go and flung the offending badge out into the street. He cupped his hands in front of his face. 'Hey, who wants a free earth badge?' he yowled as Ash flung himself after the precious seventh badge.

'GARY YOU BASTARD!'


	4. Calm Before the Pokemon League

**Author Note:**** ^.^' I have to admit, this chapter is a little anticlimactic compared to chapter three. It's the 'Poke-corral' episode (67) **

* * *

…_Ash Ketchum, the greatest pokémon trainer this world has known is standing, head bowed, in the middle of the stadium. The crowd is cheering wildly as he slowly lifts his head and smiles roguishly. The spotlights illuminate his face and a large television screen in the corner switches from the pokémon league logo to show a close-up of his eyes. He winks cheekily, and the pretty girls in the front row of the seats opposite him squeal and stamp their feet._

'_I- I did it, I'm at the Pokémon League,' he thinks, scarcely believing it himself. 'I can finally achieve my dream, and become a pokémon Master!' _

_Ash Ketchum reaches inside his jacket and takes a pokéball from his belt. The people hold their breath- What pokémon will the Master decide to call out? _

'_Pokéball, go!' _

_The ball rockets forward- but then, the unthinkable happens; it flies back towards Ash like a boomerang, growing in size. It looks large enough for a person to fit. 'What? Nuuu!' Ash cries, as the pokéball pops open and begins to suck him in. _

'_I'm not a pokémon! No!' Ash yells, but there's nothing to grab onto, and it feels like his face is being ripped off…_

'Nngh, aha… AHH! Get that off my face you crazy pokémon!'

'Mr. Mime!' the clown pokémon argued, proceeding to attack Ash's face with the vacuum cleaner again, scrubbing up and down fervently. Ash tried to protest through a mouthful of vacuum, but his cries were sucked up.

Ash finally escaped, chocking and gasping. The Mr. Mime stood over him coldly, before moving on to dusting the bookshelves. This further proved to Ash that the pokémon was trying to get rid of him. One day, Mr. Mime would achieve his goal, but how? Poisoning his food with cleaning agent? Throw him in the trash and let him be ground up into cubes then disposed of? The perfect crime. His mom wouldn't suspect Mr. Mime. Heaven forbid her 'Sweet Mimey' would do away with her only son…

Ash shuddered and shrugged on his clothing as fast as he could, mistrustfully glancing at the back of Mr. Mime's head to make sure he hadn't moved out of sight. He shuffled down the hallway and into the kitchen, smelling food.

'Oh Ash, you're awake!' his mother trilled, turning around with a sunny smile. 'I put out your plate; I thought you might be up soon,' she caught Mr. Mime's eye from the bedroom and winked. She hurried over to the table and slid some pancakes onto ash's plate, then Misty's.

'Thanks, Mrs. Ketchum, these are great,' Misty said shyly, tearing off a piece and feeding some to Togepi, who sat at the table in Ash's old baby chair. Pikachu sat opposite Togepi with a plate full of Brock's special pokémon food. Ash snuck him some pancake when Brock's back was turned. Brock had recently started giving out to Ash about his Pikachu's health and the fact that the Pokémon League was drawing ever closer.

'Did you sleep okay?'

'Sure- until Mr. Mime tried to suck my face off with the vacuum cleaner!' Ash replied vehemently, stabbing at his food. He squirted syrup until it coated his pancakes thickly and then started eating.

'You're ruining perfectly good food,' Brock said from beside the cooker. He was wearing one of Ash's mother's frilly aprons and stirring a pot of vegetable soup. 'Do you have to dump that sugary junk all over everything? What are you, a butterfree?'

'Just because you don't like sweet things doesn't mean I can't,' Ash quipped. 'Besides, I need my energy, I'm a growing boy!'

'The only thing you'll get from that is a sugar rush,' Brock sniffed. 'You'd have a better chance if you swapped breakfasts with Pikachu. Eat up quickly; we need to go see Professor Oak.'

'Oh yeah, I completely forgot!'

'Ash! That's the whole reason we came back to Pallet; to ask about the pokémon league!' Misty chided. 'You don't just share eating habits with butterfree; you have about the same memory span.'

'Ash is already getting ready for the pokémon league? I had no idea,' Mrs. Ketchum sighed. 'I do wish you called home more often Ash, how am I supposed to know whether you change your underwear or not?'

Misty and Brock sniggered. Ash blushed furiously. 'I'm sorry mom…'

'Right, if that's it then we'll go. I'll get the plates Mrs. Ketchum,' Brock said.

'Oh, that's very good of you. Thank you for making lunch, too.'

'It was no problem, I love to cook,' Brock confided, rinsing out the pot after he had poured the soup into canisters.

Ash put on his jacket and patted down his clothes. Pikachu got down from the table, small bits of pancake dotting his face. Ash slipped his fingerless gloves on and secured his belt, which held his team of pokémon. He was reminded of his dream, and wondered whether pokémon liked living in poke balls. Pikachu didn't. Maybe they should all walk beside him, always. He tried to imagine all of his pokémon chasing him around as he walked to the bathroom. He suppressed a laugh.

'Come on Ash, we're leaving!' Misty called. She already had Togepi strapped to her back and was tapping her foot impatiently. Ash jogged to the front door, waving good-bye to his mother. She stood in the doorway and waved back, giving him a thumbs up and mouthing 'I love you, Pumpkin.'

Brock and Misty were waiting outside, by the gate. Ash hurried over, wincing apologetically.

'Wow, Ash, your hometown is kind of beautiful,' Misty breathed, looking down from the hill. The sky was blushing pink and the clouds were orangey-red. The low sun was golden-orange, lighting up the patchwork of fields. Ash grinned in reply. 'Yeah,' he said, slightly embarrassed but very pleased.

They walked brusquely and arrived at Professor Oak's research lab in just over five minutes. Ash led them around the side of the building to where the house attachment was. It was virtually unchanged, Ash thought with a nostalgic sigh.

Brock rapped on the yellow door smartly and the three waited for Professor Oak to let them in. Ash scuffed his shoes on the gravel, glancing at the little crabby 'welcome' sign. It brought back memories; some good, some odd. The door swung open and they stepped inside.

'Hey Professor, remember me?' Ash asked jokingly. 'Look how tall I've grown!'

'Come in, come in, it's lovely to see' -Professor Oak skipped right over Ash- 'A togepi!'

Ash twitched.

'It just so happens that you three aren't my only visitors today,' Professor Oak went on. He took them into the sitting room, chatting about the fine weather they'd been having lately. Ash tried to listen to him, but he was instinctively wary of any surprise guests. It could mean only one person. He peered around the door cautiously.

A sullen youth with long, spiky brown hair was sitting in one of the armchairs, sipping tea. He sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees and holding the teacup with both hands. A sliced Madeira cake was on the side table beside him. He'd taken a piece but only nibbled on it politely. He looked up when they walked in and his eyes met Ash's. His serious frown was replaced by a condescending grin, making Ash's stomach clench.

'Well now,' he leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs, 'I'm not surprised you showed up late, I'm surprised you showed up at all.' Gary Oak tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

'Hey!' Ash glowered at Gary. He regarded the older boy with suspicion.

'Boys, please,' Professor Oak hushed, sticking his arm out to block Ash's view of Gary. He smoothed his lab coat indulgently as the tension rose. 'Can't Pallet's two top trainers get along?' he said slyly, picking up a small pokémon figurine from the mantle. He examined it for dramatic effect, waiting for his comment to sink in.

If Gary and Ash had been pokémon, they would have pricked their ears. Both boys turned to Professor Oak sharply. Ash looked startled and Gary's frown deepened. 'Top trainers?' they cried in unison, with wide eyes.

'Not _him!' _Ash yelped, ducking under the Professor's arm and peering at Gary despite himself. Gary caught Ash looking and winked saucily, delighting in the other's sudden unexpectedly blank expression.

Professor Oak chuckled. 'That's right. You're both such fine trainers that you'll be pokémon masters before long. You might even be able to learn from each other.'

Ash highly doubted that. The only thing someone could learn from Gary was how to be a complete and total jerk. He snuck another glance at the brunet across the table. His arms were folded over his chest and his eyes were closed. His mouth was a tight line.

The silence was interrupted by a small crabby, just under the height of the coffee table. Its legs skittered over the tiles as it scrabbled to stay upright. It had a metal tray propped on its head and balanced it with its large pincers. Tea sloshed in the clay cups, but didn't spill. It carefully lowered the tray onto the table and stood back, looking very pleased with itself.

'Recognize your crabby, Ash? It's doing very well,' Professor Oak praised. He patted the crustaceous pokémon on the head.

'Hello crabby, how're ya doing?' Ash laughed.

'That's his, huh?' Gary muttered, with some amusement, prodding the pokémon with his foot gently. It scuttled to the side, claws clicking. He snickered to himself. Ash shot him a dirty look. Gary stuck his tongue out and turned away.

'You and Gary have each collected a fine amount of badges; Gary has ten and you have eight.'

Ash grinned. 'Oh _dear_, Gary. Did you just stop trying after you lost in Viridian City?'

Professor Oak sipped his tea. 'Out of the four trainers that left Pallet, you two have come the farthest. It's a great achievement. You're both fine boys.'

Ash frowned. 'What happened to the other two trainers?' It had occurred to him that he hadn't seen them at all since he had left Pallet.

Professor Oak shrugged apologetically, putting his cup down. 'They got off to a good start, but they just couldn't follow through. Being a trainer gets hard sometimes and many people lose their way,' he added gently.

Ash's face was solemn. 'That's too bad,' he mumbled. There were a lot of times on his pokémon journey that he had felt it would have been easier just to go back to Pallet. If it weren't for Pikachu, Brock, Misty- where would he be now? He gripped his cup tightly, nearly spilling the warm liquid over his lap.

'Ah, they just wimped out,' Gary said. Ash took a long, hard look at his rival- seriously rethinking his previous assumptions about Gary. There had been a slight sneer in his voice. Ash's eyes flicked over him reproachfully.

Professor Oak cleared his throat. _Moving swiftly on…'_'I'm glad you two came to see me; it's about time you entered the Pokémon League.'

'Alright! I'm on my way to becoming a Pokémon Master!' Ash stood up quickly, 'Come on Pikachu!

'Pika!'

'Oh Ah-ash,' Gary called in a sing-song voice. 'Just one question. Where's the Pokémon League?' He asked sweetly. He raised an eyebrow.

'Uhhh…' Ash was at a loss for words.

'Ash,' Misty said in a hushed tone, 'That's what we came over to find out.'

'I assume you know that the Pokémon League only meets once a year, in the exact same place,' Gary drawled. He let out a very undignified 'oomf' when Ash latched onto him, pulling their faces together.

'Where is it? When is it? You gotta tell me!' Ash blurted with all the grace of a madman, yanking on Gary's shirt plaintively. Gary's jaw went slack and his eyes were glued to Ash's nose, which was touching his own.

'The Indigo Plateau, exactly _two _months_ from today.' _Professor Oak answered, tersely, peeling Ash off his grandson, 'And there will be more than two _hundred _trainers there. You and Gary should take this time to train hard. Two months may seem like a long time, but if you think about it more than a year has passed. It feels like only yesterday I handed you your first pokémon.'

'You don't have to worry about me, Gramps. It's little Ashy who _I'm _concerned about.' Gary stood up and walked lazily over to the window, regaining his composure. 'Oh, I'm not saying you're a bad trainer, Ash, but you'd never be able to beat someone like me.'

'In case you didn't remember, Gary, I have eight badges. I'm just as qualified as you.'

'True. But how many different pokémon have you caught?' Gary cocked his head. 'Or are you too embarrassed to tell me?' he bent forward with a smirk. The younger boy squirmed.

'I'm not embarrassed,' he managed, breath hitching, suddenly unable to meet Gary's probing eyes. The two seemed to be talking it in turns to make each other uncomfortable.

'Don't tell him Ash, it's none of his business,' Misty said.

Professor Oak saved the day, again. 'Very interesting!' he exclaimed loudly, to attract their attention. 'I've finished analyzing your pokédex's. The results are; Gary has seen sixty different types of pokémon, but Ash has seen over a hundred!'

Ash punched the air in triumph. 'Alright, I beat him!'

'But Gary captured many more pokémon than Ash.'

'Heh, two-hundred!' Gary bragged. 'Of course, there are only one hundred and fifty pokémon, but you can never have enough- so I have more than one of some kind. I bet all you do is use your pokédex,' he said to Ash, 'I already know loads, so I don't have to rely on my Gramps' data all the time.'

'Aha! But I bet you aren't friends with all of your pokémon,' Ash pointed out. Gary looked at him dumbly. Ash folded his arms with satisfaction. Case closed.

'Now hold on a minute,' Professor Oak stepped between them. 'You both have very different but valid ways of training your pokémon,' he insisted, running a hand through his silver-grey hair.

Ash and Gary said nothing. Surely there was only one way to train pokémon? Otherwise no one would know the best way. Although the two had different views on training, they both wanted to do what was best for their pokémon. Perhaps this was what set them apart, helping them strive for the ultimate goal; to become Masters.

Professor Oak led Misty and Brock deeper into the lab, as they still had questions for him. Ash and Gary were left alone in the living room. An awkward silence ensured. Gary was oddly quiet and seemed deep in thought. Ash exchanged a glance with Pikachu. He didn't quite know how he felt being alone with his rival.

It was Gary who broke the silence. 'Hey Ash, why don't we have a battle?' he suggested with a half-smile. 'We could both do with the extra training.' After his earlier comment (saying Ash could never beat him), Ash was taken aback.

Ash blinked and then he smiled too. 'Sure,' he agreed. 'But I don't think Professor Oak would appreciate us messing up his house.' He looked around the cramped space and began mentally rearranging the furniture.

'Not here, you idiot,' Gary sighed, rubbing his temple, 'Outside!' He swept from the room impatiently, an odd look on his face as Ash scrambled to catch up to him. They passed into the lab and went outside through one of the large glass doors. Professor Oak had created different environments especially for studying pokémon, so the grounds were split up into different terrains. Gary seemed to have a place in mind, so Ash followed him. They didn't speak.

Gary stopped walking when they reached a large field, quite far from the Centre and enclosed by trees. The grass was long, growing up to their shins. A small rectangular patch of grass in the middle had been freshly mowed, and the air smelled sweet. 'Here's good,' Gary said. Ash watched him kick off his boots and did the same. He licked his lips nervously. He planned to use Pikachu first, and show Gary what a true trainer-pokémon bond was. He knew the other thought Pikachu was a bit of a joke, and he so desperately wanted to prove Gary wrong.

Before they had a chance to take their places, there was a loud explosion. Gary wheeled around and caught sight of thick, acrid-looking smoke rising above the trees. He looked at Ash in alarm. 'It's coming from the Electric Pokémon Preserve,' he said hurriedly, picking up his boots. When Ash hesitated, he explained: 'That's where my Gramps and your friends are!'

Ash and Gary pelted towards the source of the smoke, Pikachu racing to catch up. They skidded to a halt, almost falling into a large, smoking crater. Ash pitched forward but Gary caught his hand, pulling him away from the gaping hole. Ash tightened the grip on his hand, thankfully. Professor Oak, Misty and Brock were there, but they were unharmed.

'That smoke gets in your eyes…' Jessie coughed.

'Show me the way to go home; I'm tired and I want to go to bed,' wailed her blue-haired companion, James.

'Hey, I should have known it was you!' Ash growled, recovering.

'Pi pikachuu!' Pikachu sprang to his side, lightning bolt tail raised. He crouched, ready to zap the Team Rocket goons.

'We're here for that Pikachu,' Meowth said, advancing on the electric mouse with his claws unsheathed.

'Aren't you always,' Misty huffed, planting her hands on her hips. Brock stood beside her, equally unimpressed with the sudden appearance of Team Rocket.

'It's you guys!' Gary said, in sudden realization, pointing at Meowth.

'Because you're being so rude, how about you hand over all the pokémon you have here, as well as the rat!' Jessie cackled. She dusted off her uniform and she and James sprung out of the crater, taking their poses.

'If you want them, you're going to have to go through us!' Gary took out a pokéball and he and Ash sprung forward. Jessie and James took out their own pokémon, rushing at the two boys.

Suddenly the ground began to shake. There was the sound of thundering hooves and a cloud of dust began to form. Jessie, James and Meowth paused. A herd of tauros charged through the fence of their enclosure and straight into Team Rocket, bellowing and kicking. Jessie and James clutched at each other frantically before being tossed into the air. Meowth yowled; holding onto James's left foot for dear life, and clawed his way up the man's leg.

'It looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!' James whimpered, his eyes tearing up at the deep gashes.

'Why can't good things happen to bad people?' Jessie groaned, trying to keep her skirt from fluttering as they sailed into the sky.

'Have a nice flight!' Misty waved, making a face.

'We did it Gramps!' Gary said with satisfaction, running over to Professor Oak.

'Uh, Gary? We didn't really do anything…' Ash reminded him. 'It was the herd of tauros.'

Professor Oak climbed out of the crated with the help of Brock and Misty.

'Those were the tauros you caught in the safari zone Ash, it seems like you've saved the day.'

Ash had no problem with taking the credit. 'Really? Neat!'

'…But now there's a large hole in the fence. Since they were your pokémon you really must take responsibility.'

His face fell. ''Whaaat?'

Misty giggled. 'Yes Ash. You should clean up after your pokémon.' She winked cutely and started towards the lab.

'Hang on,' Professor Oak handed her a plank of wood. He passed a tool box to Brock. 'Friendship is about sticking together no matter what.'

'But-'

'It's okay Gramps, me and Ash have this one.' Gary walked over and took the toolbox from Brock. 'You guys go back and have lunch, don't wait up on us.'

Ash watched after Misty and Brock, sagging under the weight of the wood in his arms. He crouched down to talk to Pikachu, putting his load down. 'Why don't you go inside too, Pikachu?' he asked, 'This isn't going to be all that much fun.'

Pikachu patted Ash's cheek and scampered after the retreating figures. Ash followed him with his eyes until he was just a small yellow dot.

Gary cleared his throat. 'So, I guess we should get started,' he said, picking up a plank and dragging it over to the edge of broken fence. Ash hurried to pick up the end trailing on the ground. He cocked his head at Gary questioningly. The brunet snorted softly and fished a hammer from the box. He balanced the wood on his knee and positioned the nail. He lifted the hammer but accidentally dropped the nail, scowling.

'Let me do that.'

Gary nodded and concentrated on holding the wood straight. Ash moved in beside him and hammered the nail in place quickly. He did a second nail close to the same spot, making sure it was secure by trying to jiggle the wood up and down. It held firmly, so he bent down to put down the hammer. Gary watched him, expressionless. He couldn't keep his thoughts from straying.

They took it in turns. One held the wood and the other used the hammer to fix the planks in place. When they were nearly finished, Gary suggested that they take a break.

Ash moved away and smiled sheepishly. 'You didn't have to stay and help. Me, Brock and Misty could have done this.' He gestured to the half-finished fence, his face heating. Gary was staring at him, unblinking, with a half-lidded gaze. Ash gulped, and his stomach did another weird little flip. 'Why did you decide to help?'

Gary opened his mouth. He paused and bit his lip, as if he had been about to say something, but thought better of it. 'Just 'cause,' he said, passing Ash the hammer.

'So, I guess the next time we're going to see each other is at the Pokémon League.'

He had to listen hard to catch the words that Ash mumbled; his head was bowed and he was nibbling on his jacket collar. 'Yeah.'

'I'm not going to let my guard down 'just 'cause' you're being nice to me this one time,' Ash said, perfectly seriously.

Gary's annoyance bled into his tone. 'You just don't let anything go, do you?' he asked. 'Maybe, just this once we could pretend to be friends again.'

Now it was Ash's turn to be slightly ticked off. 'We're not friends?' he slid off of the fence and stood in front of Gary. 'I thought it was you who decided that you didn't want to be "friends". That's way we're rivals.' He took a step closer. 'You're the one that doesn't let anything go.'

Gary watched him. He watched Ash's eyebrows furrow and his nose wrinkle. He watched his brown-black eyes narrow in suspicion. 'Maybe I'm going to change from now on.' Gary picked up another plank and positioned it. 'Get the other end; I don't want to miss dinner.'


End file.
